U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2014–3070

January 2015

Economics and Ecosystem Services

Federal policymakers and land managers are accountable to the public for how they invest public funds and for the 

outcomes of the policy and management decisions they make. 

Through a variety of economic analyses and custom modeling, 

SEA economists evaluate how investments and management 

decisions affect individuals, local communities, and society as 

a whole. Specifically, SEA economists (1) conduct economic 

effects analyses to quantify how spending cycles through local 

economies, generating business sales and supporting jobs 

and income; (2) conduct research to assess nonmarket values 

associated with public policy and land management practices; 

and (3) assess the economic values associated with ecosystem 

services, defined as socially valued goods and services resulting from ecosystem structures and functions, and other natural 

resource management issues.

Policy Analysis and Negotiation

Natural-resource management increasingly demands 

skills in negotiation to engage a broad range of stakeholders 

in decisionmaking. SEA scientists incorporate the results of 

their published research on multi-party negotiation into training 

courses taught annually at the FORT. SEA researchers also work 

to understand how institutional arrangements contribute to successful implementation of natural-resource management plans 

or policies, and how to address conflicts of science in complex 

institutional settings. This work is important because the science, policy, and stakeholder communities must collaborate for 

informed and effective decisionmaking.

FORT COLLINS SCIENCE CENTER

Social and Economic Analysis Branch

Integrating Policy, Social, Economic, and Natural Science

Capabilities

The Fort Collins Science Center’s Social and Economic Analysis 

(SEA) Branch provides unique capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey 

by leading projects that integrate social, behavioral, economic, and natural science in the context of human–natural resource interactions. Our 

research provides scientific understanding and support for the management and conservation of our natural resources in support of multiple 

agency missions. We focus on meeting the scientific needs of the Department of the Interior natural resource management bureaus in addition to 

fostering partnerships with other Federal and State managers to protect, 

restore, and enhance our environment. SEA has an interdisciplinary group 

of scientists whose primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and 

applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer 

training to support the development of skills in natural resource management activities. Management and research issues associated with human-resource interactions typically occur in a unique 

context and require knowledge of both natural and social sciences, along with the skill to integrate multiple science disciplines. 

In response to these challenging contexts, SEA researchers apply a wide variety of social science concepts and methods which 

complement our rangeland/agricultural, wildlife, ecology, and biology capabilities. The goal of SEA’s research is to enhance 

natural-resource management, agency functions, policies, and decisionmaking.

Photograph by Rudy Schuster, USGS.

Photograph by Katie Walters, USGS.
Selected Projects

Users, Uses, and Value of Landsat Imagery

Landsat satellites provide high-quality, multi-spectral, moderate-resolution imagery of urban, rural, and remote lands for all areas of the world. The imagery is applied 

to a variety of research areas, such as global climate change research, agriculture, and 

environmental management. Limited information is available about how private businesses, nonprofit organizations, Tribes, and State and local governments use and value 

federally sponsored, moderate-resolution land imaging. Social scientists at SEA are 

conducting a series of surveys to provide longitudinal data on how the users and uses of 

the imagery are changing over time. The value of the imagery is being estimated both 

qualitatively and quantitatively through the surveys and ongoing case studies. The case 

studies provide an opportunity to research individual applications of Landsat imagery 

extensively, including an in-depth look at the market and nonmarket value of the imagery within a given application.

Photograph by USGS.

Photo credit: Mark Vandever, USGS.

Agricultural Practices

The significance placed on environmentally responsible 

land management is based in part on public recognition that 

social, aesthetic, and recreational values enhance the traditional 

uses of agricultural land. SEA scientists generate science-based 

information needed to guide management actions and policy 

decisions that support wildlife habitat and other environmental 

services compatible with both U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) conservation goals and land managers. Under guidance 

from the USDA Farm Service Agency, SEA scientists provide 

biological, social, and economic information that integrates 

agriculture and conservation for USDA conservation programs. 

Results are provided to Federal and State conservation agencies 

and nongovernmental organizations.

Assessing Socioeconomic Planning Needs (ASPN)

Lands and resources managed by Federal, State, and local agencies provide many goods and services that contribute to the 

social and economic well-being of local communities and society as a whole, including benefits such as recreational opportunities, 

commercial uses, environmental education, and subsistence. Social and economic analyses are an essential and required part of 

evaluating the effects of land-management actions; however, familiarity with identifying and analyzing socioeconomic effects is not a skill 

many planners or managers possess. To provide a consistent framework for this process, SEA scientists are collaborating with other Federal agencies to develop ASPN, a Web-based decision tool that allows 

planners and managers to assess the appropriate social and economic 

issues to address in their management process. ASPN then provides 

a socioeconomic analysis plan that is tailored to the user’s individual 

land unit and planning issues. Information provided by the tool will 

improve the planning process by (1) prioritizing the specific attributes 

of significant issues that need to be addressed, (2) determining the level 

of analysis necessary for specific attributes, and (3) identifying the 

most applicable socioeconomic assessment methods.

Photograph by Mark Vandever, USGS.

Human Dimensions of Resource Management

Human dimensions in the context of natural resource 

management refers to the ways humans value natural 

resources, resource management preferences, and how 

humans affect or are affected by natural resource management 

decisions. Natural resource management and policy decisionmaking require incorporation of sound biological, social, and 

economic science. SEA scientists use tools, research methods, 

and training to support managers in the creation and revision 

of Federal land and water management plans. Specific activities include (1) surveying visitors, community residents, 

and other stakeholders about their activities on public lands 

and their attitudes toward and perceptions and knowledge 

of management alternatives; (2) understanding the relationships among public land management, human well-being, 

and community sustainability in light of phenomena such as 

climate change and energy development; and (3) learning 

how scientists and the public apply scientific information in 

their decision processes.

Photograph by Rudy Schuster, USGS.
Human Dimensions of Climate Change

A changing climate poses challenges to both natural and human systems. 

The 2009 Department of the Interior Climate Change Task Force documented that 

many communities and user groups that depend on public lands and waters are 

at risk from climate change impacts. We call these impacts and related issues the 

human dimensions of climate change (HDCC). HDCC issues include changes in 

economic activity, subsistence practices, human health, recreation, infrastructure, 

community resilience, and others. While there are policy documents addressing the human dimensions of climate change, there is limited guidance that is 

directly relevant to the operational challenges of resource management. The 

Human Dimensions of Climate Change: An Interagency Collaborative is a group 

of researchers and managers that has been developed to fill this need. In collaboration with resource managers, HDCC will offer 

information, guidance, and applied research on the human dimensions of climate change to inform operational decisions. Methodology includes a number of regional case studies to identify information gaps and potential solutions to filling those gaps.

Photograph by Katie Walters, USGS.

Collaboration and Dispute Resolution

Developing skills in collaboration and dispute resolution at both the individual and organizational level is a significant 

challenge for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) because management decisions on BLM land involve stakeholders. SEA researchers are working with BLM to learn what information sources and resources BLM employees use to fill 

their collaboration and dispute resolution needs and which additional 

resources could be provided by BLM to enhance and support collaboration skills. Researchers also identified barriers that hinder skill 

development in collaboration and dispute resolution, and assessed BLM 

employee attitudes toward collaboration and dispute resolution. U.S. 

Geological Survey researchers conducted an online survey of a broad 

group of BLM employees and followed up with in-depth interviews of 

a sample of BLM field office managers. The information gathered from 

this study will be used as the BLM develops a new plan, “Strategic Plan 

for Collaboration and Alternative Dispute Resolution,” and will help 

shape the direction of programs to develop the capacity to engage with 

stakeholders in decision processes. 

Photograph by Katie Walters, USGS.

Ecosystem Service Valuation of Everglades Restoration

South Florida’s Everglades are a unique and complex system of interdependent 

ecosystems that provide many direct and indirect benefits to humans. Now considered 

one of the most threatened ecosystems in the nation, efforts to intervene in the degradation of the Everglades by reestablishing historic flows of water are expected to 

impact a wide range of ecosystem services; the benefits from ecosystem structures and 

processes integral to human well-being. SEA economists, in collaboration with a team 

of interdisciplinary scientists at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the South 

Florida Water Management District, the University of Florida, and other Federal, State, 

and local agencies, are assessing the economic value of ecosystem services that could 

be affected by restoration activities that will take place under the Central Everglades 

Planning Project. The results of this assessment are expected to be of significance to the 

Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and its stakeholders, the general public, 

USACE Jacksonville District, and USACE nationally.

Photograph by USGS.
Economic Contribution of Federal Investments in Restoration of Degraded, Damaged, or Destroyed Ecosystems

Nationwide, restoration projects are underway to mitigate 

environmental damages and improve the health and resilience of 

terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. In addition to environmental benefits, Federal investments in restoration activities 

cycle through local economies, generating revenue, and supporting 

jobs and income. SEA economists collaborate with the DOI Office 

of Policy Analysis, DOI Restoration Program, and Bureau of Land 

Management to collect data and develop a series of case studies that 

will increase the available information on the costs and required 

inputs for ecosystem restoration and the resultant economic effects 

of these investments to local economies. In addition to providing 

improved information on the economic effects of restoration, these 

case studies highlight DOI restoration efforts and tell personalized 

stories about each project and the communities that are positively 

affected by restoration activities. The long-term aspiration of these efforts is to provide a framework to estimate the economic effects 

of a variety of restoration activities.

Photograph by Bureau of Land Management.

Integrating Agricultural and Conservation Goals

Federal and State agencies need information on the biological 

effects of conservation program policies to ensure that these policies 

are based on the best science, reflect important regional and ecological differences, and are applicable for land enrolled in conservation 

programs. Of these, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the 

largest, with approximately 25 million acres of potentially erosive or 

otherwise environmentally sensitive private lands in 47 states. SEA 

scientists collaborate with USDA administrators to help quantify 

environmental benefits of individual conservation practices and 

improve the conservation effectiveness of their programs. Researchers are evaluating short-term vegetation responses to CRP land management practices in response to extreme drought in Texas; while in 

Colorado, rangeland management specialists and ecologists examine 

the role CRP grasslands play in providing refugia for pollinators in agricultural landscapes. In Iowa, a two-year assessment is coming to 

completion after analyzing the utility wetlands provide for habitat to native amphibians by examining water quality, testing for disease, 

and estimating survival and stress levels.

Photograph by Mark Vandever, USGS.

Staff

Branch Chief: Rudy M. Schuster, Ph.D., Supervisory Social Scientist,

 schusterr@usgs.gov

Burkardt, Nina, M.A., Research Social Scientist, burkardtn@usgs.gov

Cullinane Thomas, Cathy, M.S., Economist, ccullinanethomas@usgs.gov

Huber, Christopher, M.S., Economist, chuber@usgs.gov

Miller, Holly, B.S., Social Scientist, millerh@usgs.gov

Poorman, Kyle, M.S., Social Scientist, kpoorman@usgs.gov

Reese, Gordon, Ph.D., Ecologist, greese@usgs.gov

Richardson, Leslie, Ph.D., Economist, lrichardson@usgs.gov

Serbina, Larisa, M.S., Economist, lserbina@usgs.gov

Skagen, Susan, Ph.D., Research Wildlife Biologist, skagens@usgs.gov

Steen, Valerie, Ph.D. candidate, Colorado State University, vsteen@usgs.gov

Swann, Earlene M., M.A., Social Scientist, swanne@usgs.gov

Vandever, Mark, M.Ag., Rangeland Management Specialist, vandeverm@usgs.gov

Walters, Katie, B.A., contracted Communications Specialist, waltersk@usgs.gov

And a continuing team of student contractors.

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/fs20143070

Contact Information

Rudy M. Schuster, Ph.D., Branch Chief

U.S. Geological Survey 

Fort Collins Science Center

2150 Centre Avenue, Building C

Fort Collins, Colorado 80526-8118

Tel. 970.226.9165 Fax 970.226.9230

schusterr@usgs.gov

Learn more about FORT science, products, and 

resources at http://www.fort.usgs.gov

Social and Economic Analysis Branch Web site: 

http://fort.usgs.gov/sea